1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to extract of adlay bran and uses thereof; more particularly, the uses in treating a skin and/or subcutaneous tissue disease and lowering interleukin (IL)-1α, interleukin-1β, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin-8, prostaglandin-2 (PGE2) and/or C-Reactive Protein (CRP).
2. Description of the Related Art
The skin is the largest organ in the human body and is the main barrier between the body and the environment, and is the first line of defense from pathogens and physical and chemical stresses or stimulations. The skin not only provides the physical and chemical protection, but also is an immune organ that can effectively cause passive and active immune response, thereby protecting the human body.
From outside to inside, the skin has a three-layer structure composed of the epidermis, the dermis and the subcutaneous tissue. The outmost layer epidermis is responsible for protection functions; the dermis layer inside the epidermis layer is the most important part of the skin, and is responsible for supporting the epidermis and interlaces with various fibers to form a support net, and blood vessels, nerves, sebaceous glands, sweat glands and hair follicles are distributed in the dermis layer; the innermost layer of the skin is the subcutaneous tissue, which in general refers to the deep layer of the dermis of vertebrates, and in narrow sense refers to the adipose connective tissues between the dermis and skeleton and muscles below the dermis. The subcutaneous tissue mainly formed by fat cells has no obvious boundary with the dermis, and is responsible for blocking and absorbing vibration and providing a source of energy. The subcutaneous tissue is a main site for fat metabolism.
The skin and/or the subcutaneous tissue may have various diseases due to some congenital or acquired factors, resulting in discomfort of patients, and changes in appearance cause psychological burdens on patients. However, the currently adopted skin and/or subcutaneous tissue agents are steroids or acidic agents, and great side effects may be caused by improper use, so use of the existing agents are not an appropriate treatment.
In the skin and/or subcutaneous tissue diseases, damages caused by radiation therapy is one of the important types, and the radiation therapy always induces side effects such as radiation dermatitis, fatigue, radiation pneumonia and lymphedema (McCormick et al., 1989, Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys., 17:1299-1302; Lingos et al., 1991, Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys., 21:355-360; Taylor et al., 1995, Int J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys., 31:753-764; Gorodetsky et al., 1999, Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys., 45:893-900; Erickson et al., 2001, J. Natl. Cancer Inst, 93:96-111). With breast cancer as an example, about 50% to 60% breast cancer patients need radiation therapy after operation. After operation resection and systemic chemotherapy, the side effects such as hair loss, neutropenia, nausea and vomiting always occur in the patients. As a result, the patients may evade or refuse the treatment because of fear. The medical community has made some improvements in the treatment equipment and technology to reduce the side effects of the radiation therapy. As for skin erythema and pigmentation caused by radiation and some serious side effects such as ulcer in a minority of the patients, the medical community always tries to use some radiation protection agents such as Amifostine (Yuhas et al., 1980, Cancer Clin. Trials., 3:211-216). However, the agents are almost not used in the actual medical practice due to accompanying strong side effects, non-obvious effect, or high price. An agent that has the effect of radiation protection or radiation effect strengthening and can reduce the dose of radiation is still needed, so as to bring benefit for cancer patients receiving the radiation therapy.
Adlay (Coix lachryma-jobi L. var. ma-yuen Stapf) seeds, also called Job's tears, are a component of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and have long been used as an anti-inflammatory agent to treat warts, chapped skin, rheumatism, and neuralgia (Li, S. C. Pen-t'sao kangmu (Systematic Pharmacopoeia); China, 1596). A recent study showed that dehulled adlay (DA) modulated the microbiota in the intestinal tract of rats (Chiang, W.; Cheng, C.; Chiang, M.; Chung, K. T. J. Agric. Food Chem. 2000, 48, 829-832.). Also, the anti-inflammatory and antioxidative effects of adlay were elucidated in vitro (Lee, M. Y.; Tsai, S. H.; Kuo, Y. H.; Chiang, W. Food Sci. Biotechnol. 2008, 17, 1265-1271; Kuo, C. C.; Shih, M. C.; Kuo, Y. H.; Chiang, W. J. Agric. Food Chem. 2001, 49, 1564-1570). Contents of various potent compounds in adlay seeds from different origins were quantified (Wu, T. T.; Charles, A. L.; Huang, T. C. Food Chem. 2007, 104, 1509-1515). Several phenolic antioxidants were isolated from adlay seeds, and bioactive components in adlay seeds were found to be stable during processing (Hsu, H. Y.; Lin, B. F.; Lin, J. Y.; Kuo, C. C.; Chiang, W. J. Agric. Food Chem. 2003, 51, 3763-3769). Lignans and phenolic compounds were isolated from adlay hull (AH) in an assay-guided isolation (Kuo, C. C.; Shih, M. C.; Kuo, Y. H.; Chiang, W. J. Agric. Food Chem. 2001, 49, 1564-1570). Flavanone and several phenolic acids were isolated from anti-inflammatory fractions of adlay seeds (Huang, D. W.; Kuo, Y. H.; Lin, F. Y.; Lin, Y. L.; Chiang, W. J. Agric. Food Chem. 2009, 57, 2259-2266; Huang, D. W.; Chung, C. P.; Kuo, Y. H.; Lin, Y. L.; Chiang, W. J. Agric. Food Chem. 2009, 57, 10651-10657; Chen, H. J.; Chung, C. P.; Chiang, W.; Lin, Y. L. Food Chem. 2011, 126, 1741-1748). Phenolic alcohol in the adlay testa (AT) was reported to possess antiallergic activity (Chen, H. J.; Shih, C. K.; Hsu, H. Y.; Chiang, W. J. Agric. Food Chem. 2010, 58, 2596-2601). In addition, DA and adlay bran (AB) were shown to retard carcinogenesis through an anti-inflammatory pathway (Shih, C. K.; Chiang, W.; Kuo, M. L. Food Chem. Toxicol. 2004, 42, 1339-1347; Li, S. C.; Chen, C. M.; Lin, S. H.; Chiang, W.; Shih, C. K. J. Sci. Food Agric. 2011, 91, 547-552), and ferulic acid was regarded as the active component in a further investigation (Chung, C. P.; Hsu, H. Y.; Huang, D. W.; Hsu, H. H.; Lin, J. T.; Shih, C. K.; Chiang, W. J. Agric. Food Chem. 2010, 58, 7616-7623).
Although there are many uses of adlay seeds reported, various applications of extract of adlay seeds remain to be developed.